Affinity
by Coragyps
Summary: Fuu liked to pretend it was chance that brought them back together . . .
1. Chapter 1

The author does not own any aspect of Samurai Champloo and is making no profit from this work of fan fiction

**Special thanks to my lovely and talented Beta-reader, Tawnybmw!**

**()()()()**

Afterwards, Fuu liked to pretend that they had met by accident, "by fate," as Jin might say, as if they had bumped into each other in the middle of a crowded marketplace. In fact, she had set out to find them quite deliberately, with the same persistence that had led to her miraculously locate the Samurai Sunflower based almost entirely on olfactory evidence.

Her husband was dead after less than a year of marriage; Fuu had liked being married, but she found that she liked being single, too. Hideki had been a fine man, decent, upstanding; not a Samurai, not a thief; an ordinary fish-seller, with a nice house and an aged, crotchety mother. Both mother and son were gone now, and within two weeks of burying them Fuu was long gone too, slipping out from the village with nothing but the clothes she was wearing.

Yellow fever, said the doctors. Fate, said Fuu.

She went to Kanagawa first, because Jin was an honorable man, and because Mugen was completely unpredictable. It would be no good to go around asking people about the Pirate who Smelled Like Hogs, as this was not a useful distinction.

Yes, he had been there, they told her. Yes, he had taken her with him. No, they did not know where they were going. West, maybe.

Fuu had not expected it to be easy; Jin was always careful. She went West.

People talked to her, because she was sweet and pretty; people who would have turned away from men with swords were ready enough to tell her about the pale, serious man and his gentle wife. She varied the story as she travelled. "My father," she said, "We were supposed to meet at the border crossing, but I was late." In Atsugi it was, "My brother. Our parents are dead and I'm all alone in the world until I find him." In Tokaido, "My cheating, no-good lousy husband. He left me and our three sweet babies for our neighbor's wife." _Sorry, Jin_, she apologized mentally. But sometimes she needed the right touch of outrage to loosen someone's tongue.

Oh, that one, they said. He was here, weeks ago. Days ago. Just the other day.

Fuu gained on them quickly because people offered her rides on the back of their carts, or in the front seat of their wagons. She realized that she could have found her father a lot quicker without those two schmucks holding her down. Bodyguards! She didn't need bodyguards as long as there were nice old couples with room in their vehicles. Then one nice old man tried to grab her ass and Fuu realized she needed to find Jin quickly, before she ended up in another brothel.

"Strange looking man," nodded the innkeeper in the nearest town. "I don't blame you for trying to find him, my dear. If that was my sister, I'd want to check on her, too."

"Are they nearby?" asked Fuu hopefully.

"Nearby? They're upstairs! Took my best room for the night, where that man got his money I don't want to know."

The next morning, Fuu was waiting in the marketplace for three hours until they finally happened by.

_A/N: OK, I know that Kanagawa had a different name in the Edo period, but to be honest, historical accuracy is not exactly my thing. Let's just assume I'm taking the same liberties with the truth that the series is known for . . . Anyway, that's where I'm assuming Jin left Shino in Episode 11._


	2. Chapter 2

Jin didn't seem nearly as surprised as Fuu had expected.

"Why, Fuu-chan," he said placidly, "how pleasant to see you again."

"That's all you can say?!" she demanded. "It's been three years! How about a little enthusiasm here, jeez!"

"Well, I said it was pleasant. You may remember Shino? My wife."

Fuu knew perfectly well that they weren't really married, just like she suspected Jin knew that she had been following him. Well, so maybe she wasn't as sneaky as she thought. It seemed that they were both willing to let these deceptions pass.

"Of course I remember!" she said brightly, and impulsively threw her arms around the tall, pretty lady standing quietly behind Jin. "It's so good to see you again!"

Shino smelled flowery and sweet. "You were the girl who brought the swords," she said kindly. "It's nice to meet you properly."

"Well my name is Fuu, not that Jin would ever have introduced us," said Fuu, throwing a sharp elbow in the Samurai's direction. "I actually travelled with this guy for a long time, although you wouldn't know it by his reaction just now. You know, we saved each other's lives!"

"I believe that interaction went largely one way," said Jin, unperturbed. "Where are you staying now, Fuu-chan?"

"At the inn down the way! I just got in last night!"

_After I followed you all the way across the country._

"I see. And what are you doing so far from home? I believe you settled in the West, did you not?"

"Ah, I'm just, eh, travelling," said Fuu, laughing uncomfortably.

_I had a husband, he's dead. Funny how things happen, huh?_

"Hn."

"Ha ha! Well, enough about me, how about you guys?"

"We are travelling as well." Jin looked a little too knowing for Fuu's comfort, but he refrained from making any further comment.

"Hey, great, maybe we can travel together! That is, if you're not on, like, some kind of honeymoon or something . . ."

_Please, please don't leave me all alone._

"We are looking for someplace safe to settle down," said Shino softly. "So far we haven't found any place."

"But we will soon," Jin added. "If you wish, you are welcome to travel with us. We are headed to Shimonoseki."

"Really?" Fuu felt her eyes fill with tears and hurriedly blinked them away. "I mean, okay, I guess, at least for a little while. Hey, you haven't heard anything about Mugen, have you?"

Jin grunted. "That one. I haven't heard anything lately. In fact a few years ago somebody told me he was dead in Kantō. I don't know if it's true."

_Dead_. "Kantō . . . that's not so far from here. Did they say he was killed in a fight?" Fuu tried to keep her voice from quivering.

"No, they said he irritated the Tokugawa and was shot. I don't know if it's true."

"Jin, we should not stay out so long in the open," put in Shino, looking around nervously.

Jin sighed. "Perhaps you are right. We do not know that it is safe here."

"We will be moving on in the next day or so," said Shino. "Will you come with us, Fuu?"

Fuu chewed on her lip. "I'll meet you guys in Shimonoseki," she said finally. "I guess I've got to run an errand first."

_Just a little trip to __Kantō._


	3. Chapter 3

The trip to Kantō was more tedious than Fuu had anticipated. She finally got a ride with a young family moving to the city, but it involved tolerating the squabbles of five goblin children the entire way there. It took three days to get to the borders of the city, and by then she had a permanent headache.

Kantō was a dirty town, with a sizable redlight district and a thriving black market. This only made it more likely that Mugen had been there.

The official at the desk of the undersecretary did not look interested in helping her.

"You want the records of execution?" he asked skeptically, staring down his nose.

Fuu tried to sound humble and modest. "There was a man – " she began, the same story she'd been telling all day. "He murdered my mother . . . somebody said he had been arrested here? I want to be able to tell my father what happened to him. Was he – shot?"

"Very likely," said the undersecretary, with a sniff. "We run a tight ship, there's no crime in my town."

_Yeah, right_. Fuu had almost gotten mugged twice on the walk to the official house. "I think his name was Mugen . . ." she added hopefully. It did not escape her notice that in her lies, while Jin was an elder brother or a husband (however unfaithful), Mugen was still a thief.

Finally she wore the snubby little man down. "Well, we keep excellent records, and I would have overseen any such execution myself. Perhaps you can describe this murderer?"

Elated with this piece of luck, Fuu described Mugen in detail.

"Oh, the pirate," said the man at once, nodding. "No, he's not dead."

"He's not?" Fuu fought to keep the hope out of her voice.

"He's in jail. Has been for three years."

Jail! Fuu knew that Mugen would rather be dead. "Oh, that's great," she said, unconvincingly. "Well, then I guess my mother's murder is avenged! I guess I'll be going." She half-ran out the door she had entered and ducked out onto the street.

"Glad that justice has been served," called the little man piously at Fuu's retreating back.

The scene in the prison was just a little too familiar for Fuu's taste. The same floor-to-ceiling rusty bars, the same stale scent of body odor and grime.

Mindful of her recent revelation, Fuu chose a new lie and told the guards that she was looking for her brother – just to be equitable. She was so good at lying these days that it was easier than telling the truth, and in no time she found herself walking down the winding corridors, avoiding the arms that stretched out between the bars to grab her. A long, lean prison guard strolled beside her, obviously not interested in the fictitious drama unfolding in front of him.

"Mugen?" she whispered at each cell. "Mugen?"

"You sure he's in here?" asked the guard, bored. "Sometime people that die don't exactly get reported."

"Mugen?" Fuu was looking hard at a particular prisoner whose entire head was covered in curly hair, like a goat. Something about those curls looked familiar.

Dull yellow eyes flicked up at her, wary and hard. "Who's askin'?"

"Mugen, it is you!" He looked _terrible_. Formerly sleek and handsome – well, relatively so – he was now thin and brittle, his skin sallow. The look in his eyes was distrustful, like a dog that had been kicked too many times, and there was no recognition in his face. "Don't you remember? It's me, Fuu!"

A grunt. "Oh yeah. Hey, brat."

"Don't call me that!" Fuu's temper flared immediately into life.

"This is your brother?" said the guard skeptically.

"Ha ha, of course he is! My long-lost brother Mugen!" said Fuu nervously.

The guard cleared his throat. "You two don't look nothing alike."

"Ah, half-brother," said Fuu, feeling herself start to sweat. Luckily, Mugen remained silent. "Look, what are the chances of getting him out of here?"

The guards gave her a dubious look. "Not so good," he said flatly. "He pissed off the Shogunate. He's goin' nowhere."

"But you said people die, right? Maybe you could just, you know, report that he died."

"Why the heck would I do a thing like that?"

Fuu attempted to look extra harmless and sweet. "Puh-leeze?" As usual, this approach got her nowhere. "Isn't there _anything_ I can offer you?"

The guard looked her up and down, then leaned over and spat. "Tell you what," he said. "You ain't bad looking, a little small, maybe, but it's been a while for me. Maybe you wanna come with me into the back room for a minute."

Fuu looked at Mugen. His attention had drifted away from the conversation, staring at the wall. He didn't seem to be listening. Three years, thought Fuu. How could anybody be trapped in here that long, never mind Mugen, who was half-wild to start with?

"Why don't we talk about this in the back," she said finally, turning back to the guard. Wordlessly, he led her to an empty storage supply office.

"Maybe I can pay you," offered Fuu as soon as they were out of earshot. "I have a little bit of money."

"Nope," said the guard.

Huh. Well, Fuu wasn't exactly an innocent maiden anymore. And as a widow, she had pretty much lost any use for a good reputation. There _was_ one thing she was pretty good at, if Hideki was any judge . . .

"Open up," said the guard, swinging open the door to Mugen's cell. "Congratulations, Thief. You just died."

**Thank you to my lovely reviewers and, of course, my beta Tawnybmw!**


	4. Chapter 4

Mugen didn't act like somebody that had just been let out of prison. Fuu didn't know what she'd expected - for him to turn handstands, maybe, or literally bounce off the walls. Instead he walked hunched over and kept to the shadows, somehow more detached out of jail than he had been on the inside.

Fuu gripped the sleeve of his ragged red hakama – honestly, was he really still wearing that thing? – and followed him anxiously down an alleyway.

"Mugen, we should probably leave town right away," she said nervously. "That guard said we've got to keep from being seen."

Mugen grunted. "Got no place else to go."

"I already thought of that, we're going to Shimonoseki!" said Fuu importantly. "Jin and Shino are waiting for us!"

If she had been expecting a reaction, she didn't get one. "Huh," said Mugen. "He really went back for her, eh? I kinda figured him for a fruit."

"WHAT?!"

"Well, he hardly touched a woman the whole time we were travelling." The first sly, slow smile crept across Mugen's face. "An' he was into poetry n stuff, reading old scrolls, and he had those sissy glasses. I just figured, maybe it's cuz he's really – you know."

"He _IS NOT_! I'll have you know he's married now . . . well, at least kind of."

"Uh huh. Guess I'll believe it when I see it." Mugen walked with his hands on his head and Fuu had a flash of déjà vu – maybe she was still fifteen years old, wearing that same pink kimono, still believing that her father was out there somewhere with an explanation that would satisfy her. Maybe Jin was waiting for them just around the bend, and they would start looking for a place to spend the night, and a way to make a little money for the road.

"What'd you give that guard to make him let me out?"

That's when Fuu remembered that she wasn't a little girl anymore. "Oh, I just paid him off," she replied airily. "I have lots of money left after my husband died."

This wasn't true; although she had sewn several ryo into the lining of her kimono when she left the village, it was mostly spent by now. And she noticed that she had just blurted out to Mugen what she had carefully concealed from Jin. However, she knew that diversion was a powerful tool.

"You were married?" said Mugen skeptically. "Who the hell would marry you?"

"Hey! I'll have you know I was considered _very_ desirable by _lots_ of men!"

"Uh huh." Mugen did not look convinced.

"Some thanks I get," sniffed Fuu, "saving your sorry butt – again! – with my hard-earned cash. You know you owe me a favor now. I practically saved your life!"

A snort. Mugen was studying the storefronts that they passed with a speculative eye. "I want a drink," he announced. "And a whore. You wanna lend me the money, since you got so much of it?"

"That's disgusting, Mugen! We don't have time for that kind of thing, we've got to get to Shimonoseki right away or we'll miss Jin and Shino."

"Don't care," said Mugen. "I ain't going."

"What? What do you mean you're not going? They're waiting for us!"

"Nobody asked me if I want to go, and I guess what? I don't. I'm stayin' right here." Mugen scowled, and Fuu got a familiar sinking feeling in her stomach. She knew how stubborn he could be.

"Oh come on, Mugen, it's not even safe here! You'll end up back in prison or dead. You said you had nowhere in particular to go, so why not just come with us? Just for a little while! Please?"

Mugen was about as moved as a rock.

When wheedling didn't work, Fuu switched to violence. "You owe me!" she shrieked. "I saved your life back there! If you don't promise to come I'll . . . I'll go back to the magistrate right now! I'll report you as an escaped prisoner!"

"I don't think so, girlie," said Mugen, supremely confident. "You'd have to admit that you were an accomplice in my escape. Nope, I think you're going to lend me that money and I'm going to stay right where I am."

"I don't have any more money," Fuu admitted. "I gave everything I had to that guard." Well, that was at least _kind of_ true.

"Why?" Mugen was studying her like a prospective wrestling beetle. "What'd you wanna do that for?"

"Because! Because . . . it's a really long trip down to Shimonoseki and I'm afraid to go by myself. I need a bodyguard for the road or else I'll probably get robbed or wind up in a brothel or something . . . and it would be really lonely all by myself. And when I heard you were here I just thought, maybe . . . maybe we could go there together, that's all. But if you don't want to come I guess I can't make you."

"You just happened to be in the same crummy town?" said Mugen skeptically.

"Well I was, you know, passing through . . ."

"You're still a really crappy liar," said Mugen finally. "Fine, I'll go down with you to that S- place, but only because I wanna see if Jin's got himself a woman."

A crappy liar, huh? Fuu got the feeling she was just good enough.


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you to everyone who has read or reviewed, and of course to my fabulous Beta, Tawnybmw**

Even after they finally got out of Kantō, it took a full week for Fuu and Mugen to reach the coast. To Fuu, at least, it seemed like an extremely long week. Mugen had never been much for conversation, but his skills had declined in prison to monosyllabic grunts, unless the two of them were fighting. By the time they arrived in Shimonoseki, they were heartily sick of each other.

Jin and Shino weren't there.

"We missed them!" shrieked Fuu. "This is all your fault!"

"My fault? How the hell do you figure that?"

"Maybe if you hadn't stopped to get into _fights_ every town we passed, we would've made better time! Maybe if you hadn't gotten us kicked out of the caravan because you _couldn't keep your hands off the headman's daughter_!" Maybe if you hadn't gotten so _drunk_ we couldn't get underway until _two o'clock in the afternoon_!"

"Well maybe if you didn't need a break every five minutes!" Mugen snapped right back. He imitated Fuu's whining with a high-pitched, girly voice: "_I'm hungry, my feet are sore, I'm tired_!"

"First of all, I do NOT SOUND LIKE THAT!" Even Fuu flinched when her voice hit a new octave of screechiness, and for a moment, abashed, she forgot that she was angry. "Huh."

"Told ya," said Mugen smugly.

"Well second of all," said Fuu, gathering steam again, "I made it all the way across this country before I met up with you, and I made _great_ time, so if anyone held us back now, it's obviously _you_!"

"Whatever," said Mugen, dismissing her with a wave of his hand. "Jin probably saw some cute little boy and chased after him. They could be anywhere by now."

"Oh no, Jin and Shino were here. We'll just have to ask someone where they went," Fuu took on the determined look that she used for unpleasant tasks and scurried into the town square. "Excuse me, Sir? Excuse me!"

"_Now _what's she doing?" muttered Mugen, skulking after her. Fuu had quickly fallen into conversation with a wizened-looking old man, obviously pleased to be talking to such a fresh-looking young girl.

"So you see, Sir, we've missed my husband and my older sister by just a few days," Fuu was saying earnestly, "and it's important that we find out where they went right away! Otherwise, how will the whole family ever be together again?"

_Husband_? thought Mugen. _Man, she's more delusional than I thought_.

"Oh, my poor dear child!" the elderly man exclaimed.

_Figures_, thought Mugen darkly. _Of course everybody's going to feel sorry for the stupid little brat when she pulls out the waterworks_. He had to admit, he was just a little impressed. She'd never been this useful when they travelled together before.

"I did see the man that you're referring to, when he came into my shop to purchase bread for the journey. I'm sorry I don't know where they were going, but I _can_ tell you which way they went!"

Fuu clapped her hands together. "That's wonderful!"

"That way," said the man, pointing a crooked finger in the direction of a road that weaved west out of the village along the coast.

"Thank you so much!" said Fuu, bowing respectfully. "Mugen, come on!" Grabbing the fold of his sleeve – man, why did she always _do _that? – she began to tug Mugen in the direction that the old man had indicated.

"If I may offer a word of advice, my dear," called the old man helpfully, "that fellow you are travelling looks like rather a rough sort. I wouldn't keep company with him, if I were you."

"Ah, and your mother cooks slop for pigs," tossed back Mugen lazily, as Fuu dragged him out of sight.

"You know that's funny," said Fuu thoughtfully, as they followed the twisting path along the shoreline. "Everyone we meet seems to warn me about you! Maybe you need a haircut," she speculated, frowning at his messy brown hair.

"Maybe I'm just a bad-ass," Mugen suggested, "and everybody can tell right away."

Carefully, Fuu posed the question she had been dying to ask since they had left Kantō; she had the feeling it wouldn't have gone over well. "Mugen? What – er – why did you go to prison, anyway?"

Mugen grunted. "Oh look," he said, transparently changing the subject, "here we are."

"Huh?"

They had reached a haphazard-looking settlement, not a real village, more just a ragged little cluster of huts.

"I notice that you didn't answer my question," said Fuu darkly, "but I guess we should ask someone if they've seen them." There were a couple of people hanging about that looked like locals; who else would be standing on the street in the middle of the day?

Fuu was just trying to figure out which story to tell – would Jin be her missing father, or was Shino her sister? – when Mugen strode up to a girl with a huge basket of laundry and leered at her obviously.

"Hey doll," he drawled, while Fuu tried not to choke behind him. "Have you seen a skinny-looking samurai with stupid glasses and a chick go by here?"

"Mugen!" Fuu hissed.

"Oh, yeah," said the girl vacently. "They had some clothing for me to wash. They're staying right there." She pointed limply to a miserable little hovel hanging back from the dirt road.

"Thanks, babe," said Mugen, flashing a charming smile at the laundress and strolling off in the indicated direction. "Oi, brat! Are you comin' or what?"

Indignant and still open-mouthed with shock, Fuu scuried after him.

Mugen and Fuu had been tracking Jin and Shino for weeks, but now that they were close to reaching them, they found themselves hanging back.

"I guess we should knock," said Fuu bravely.

"Looks like they're living here, alright," Mugen grunted, nodding at the familiar blue robe hanging from the washing line out back.

"Why would Jin come _here?_" Fuu wondered, looking around. The town, such as it was, was so small that you could throw a rock from one end to the other, and the cottage was battered-looking and windswept. It hugged itself to the rocks of the coast, barely shelter enough from the howling winds.

"Good place to hide," said Mugen, with a shrug.

"Good place to die," muttered Fuu.

"Well, go on then, knock," said Mugen, nudging her forward.

Fuu was staring at the ragged little yard at the side of the house. Someone had been digging there for vegetables. "Maybe you should knock," she suggested.

Before they could start another fight, Shino came out of the house with an armload of what looked like dirty dishes. "Fuu-chan!" she exclaimed, her face lighting up. "Thank goodness you found us!"

"H-Hey, Shino!" said Fuu, suddenly shy. "It's so good to see you again. You remember our friend Mugen . . ."

"Looks like you're pretty cozy here," said Mugen, avoiding Fuu's deadly elbow.

"Oh, yes! It's not much to look at I know, but it'll have to do. Jin doesn't want us to travel any more while – " Shino blushed prettily – "while we wait for the birth of our first child."

Fuu and Mugen looked at each other, dumbfounded. _Crap_, thought Mugen. It was the first time Fuu had agreed with him in the past two weeks.


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you to all readers and reviewers - you guys are amazing - and, equally amazing, my Beta Tawnybmw. **

**Special thanks to Pen Against Sword for pointing out a bizzare problem with the italics in this chapter . . . I hate those kinds of errors. All fixed!**

"A baby! Wow, that's great," said Fuu, lying through her little white teeth. Of course, it was nice for Jin that he was going to have a child, but what a time to pick for something like that! And what a _place_ to pick; it was like going to the end of the world and then deciding to have a picnic and maybe stay the night.

"Wow, that sucks," said Mugen at almost the same time.

"MUGEN!"

"Ah, no, it's fine," said Shino quietly. "I know this isn't exactly the best situation in which to start a family. But here we are – what can we do? A baby is a blessing, no matter what time it chooses to arrive."

"That's great," Fuu repeated. She really tried to mean it, but all she could think was that, if Jin and Shino started a family, there would be no place for her. It was official: everything had changed, and there was no going back to the time when she, Mugen, and Jin had been a family by themselves. _What a terrible thing to think_, Fuu scolded herself crossly. You should be happy for Jin, he's in love and he's going to be a father! What kind of selfish, horrible person have you become? "Really, Shino, it is going to be wonderful." She racked her brains for anything truthful she could add: "I'll do absolutely everything I can do to help you guys out, so just name it, okay?"

"Thank you," replied Shino quietly.

"And you're sure that Jin's the father?" asked Mugen skeptically. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I just don't see him being able to reproduce."

"Mugen, Shut UP!"

Shino managed a pale smile. "Please, come inside," she said. "This house is small but there is space in the back for an extra futon, and there is a place on the porch for someone to sleep."

"Well don't put yourself out, Shino, really we're used to roughing it," said Fuu as they followed Shino inside. "You're sleeping outside," she hissed to Mugen.

"What do they call this place?" asked Mugen, ignoring her.

"Oh, it's such a small village that it doesn't even have a proper name. People call it Tairyō, which means 'good catch.' This is a good spot to fish, you see."

"That's about all it's good for," said Mugen.

"I am so glad you managed to make it here, Fuu-chan," said Shino kindly as she led the way to the back of the little hut. "I was sorry to leave Shimonoseki without you, but Jin seemed certain you would be able to find us again. Although, he did say that if you found Mugen in Kantō, you might not be coming back to join us."

_What the hell is that supposed to mean_, Mugen wondered.

"That would only happen is if Mugen killed me," said Fuu pleasantly.

"Don't rule that out," warned Mugen.

"You can put your things here," said Shino, motioning to a cleared corner in the back of the house. Mugen and Fuu looked at each other – they had brought nothing with them. "I know it's not much, but there's really only two rooms in the house. You can see the porch there –" Shino indicated to a narrow wooden porch slung over a precipitous drop. The back part of the house was supported by long wooded stilts, but to Fuu they looked a little in need of repair.

"This is great, thank you so much!" she said. "Er . . . it doesn't rain much here, does it?"

"So where's that son-of-a-bitch, Jin?" Mugen demanded over Fuu's question, causing her to scowl at him.

"He is out to sea!" said Shino brightly. "Today he started trying to catch fish. I'm afraid there isn't much to do around here by way of employment."

Fuu and Mugen shared a look; Jin was _fishing_? Jin was infamous for being unable to catch fish!

"How'd he rustle up a boat?" Mugen wanted to know.

"Ah, our neighbor agreed to lend him an old one," said Shino. "And we'll pay him back out of our catch."

"Yeah, hold your breath for that one," Mugen muttered.

Fuu felt as though she had come in a full circle; a fisherman's wife, and now living with a fisherman and his wife. The difference being, of course, that Hideki could actually catch fish. Nonetheless, she was worried about Jin's ability to support his growing family in his newfound career, and a glance over at Mugen told her he was skeptical too.

"Don't worry, Shino," she promised impulsively. "We'll do everything we can to help you guys make a life for yourselves here."

Mugen glowered. "Speak for yourself, brat."


	7. Chapter 7

As always, thanks to **Tawnybmw**, fabulous Beta!

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

When Jin arrived home to find that Fuu and Mugen had moved in, he had only one question: "Was it difficult to find us?"

"Nah, I just asked a cute little piece of ass if she's seen you," said Mugen.

Jin frowned. "When Shino's condition is less delicate, we will be able to move on."

"Yeah, I heard you knocked up your bird," Mugen nodded. "That's rough."

"It is good news," said Jin, with dignity.

"We can move on if we're going to be in the way," offered Fuu shyly. "You don't have to ask us to stay."

Jin was circumspect. "I am glad you are here," he answered, but Fuu wondered if he was evading the question.

They quickly settled into a routine at the little house. Jin's success with fishing increased slowly over time – at first he brought in more sea-weed than fish, which Shino would cook cheerfully and praise for its healthfulness, but in time he could bring in a respectable catch of fish.

True to her word, Fuu fell to work doing everything she could to help the newly-forming family that clung to the rocks like a barnacle. She planted a garden full of seeds she procured in the marketplace, striking shrewd bargains for Jin's sometimes measly catch. She was also quite clever at collecting the creatures that came close to shore, including – ironically – eel. She learned from the old women how to make the delicate eel traps, woven like baskets into long cones. The eels could get in, but they could not get out. Fuu was familiar with the situation.

She became a familiar figure at the market square in Shimonseki, since of all of them, she was the least likely to be recognized. There was really no way to identify her now as Kasumi's daughter; she only another oddity in an odd town, since _Tairyō_ attracted many strange people. She quickly came to know everyone, and everyone knew her as the girl who lived with her sister and her brothers-in-law, even though Fuu and Shino could not look less alike. Shino was tall and gentle and Jin was obviously in love with her – Fuu spent her days on hands and knees scooping slimy sea creatures out of rock pools.

At first Shino was a lot of help, but as time went on she became tired quickly and was soon relegated to sitting on the shady porch of the house, making baby clothes out of the cloth that Fuu would rustle up in exchange for seafood. She was also the chief cook – she was clever at making something tasty out of very little and, fortunately for Fuu, she made large portions.

Nonetheless, the real reason they prospered was not because of Jin's increasing success, but from Mugen's mysterious contributions – he always seemed to be able to afford anything, from nice clothes for himself, to cooking and fishing supplies for the household.

In the first week he disappeared for a long spell, and Fuu was almost convinced he was not coming back. Then he showed up one day, whistling merrily and seeming very pleased with himself. After that he was gone frequently and Fuu had no idea where he went.

"Where are you getting all this stuff?" asked Fuu suspiciously, when he came strolling down the town road with a big slab of meat over his shoulder. She had been in the market all afternoon, selling anemones she had gathered from the rocks, but she hadn't seen him.

"Some thanks I get," Mugen retorted. "I guess you don't want any, huh?"

"No! I do! It's just weird, that's all."

"Hey, I got skills," said Mugen. "Ain't never gonna find me starving."

"Oh jeez, you're working at a brothel or something, aren't you?" said Fuu, narrowing her eyes.

"Well no, but it's funny that's the first skill you think of," Mugen leered at her.

"Is it a woman? Someone in town?" asked Fuu. Of course she didn't care even if it was, she was just curious.

Mugen smirked. "Maybe."

Frowning, Fuu let it go, but when Mugen negotiated the purchase of Jin's boat – and paid for it in gold coins – her suspicions were renewed.

"I'm a pirate, this is a coastal town," said Mugen defensively. "They need good sailors around here."

"Yeah but you're never gone very long," said Fuu. "You can't be running cargo, and you don't even have a boat!"

"Now I do," said Mugen. "Even though it's just this tub."

Jin was suspicious of Mugen's help as well, although he had no choice but to accept it. "We would have been able to pay for the boat ourselves by the end of the year," he pointed out.

"Ah, you're just jealous because you know I could kick your ass in a fight these days," said Mugen smugly. "I bet it killing you to be getting rusty."

"Not at all," responded Jin. "While I am out in my boat, I meditate on the strategies and techniques that allow me to truly master the art of battle."

"Oh yeah?" Mugen hefted the weight of his sword speculatively. "How about you get your swords off the wall and we test that theory?"

"Hey hey hey," Fuu interjected, "No fighting. You'll bother Shino, and she's in bed with a terrible headache."

"She is often unwell," observed Jin, eyeing the door of the bedroom with obviously concern.

"Yeah, well, that's the way it is with pregnancy," Fuu assured him. "It's basically like coming down with the flu for nine months, as far as I can tell."

Fuu had thought she was pregnant once – about five months after they were first married, when she missed a period and began to feel strange. She had held off telling Heideki, wanting to be sure; then one day she got a heavy flow, about six weeks late, and that was it. No more baby. Then Heideki's mother got sick, and he was so worried about her . . . and then he was sick himself, and then they were both dead, six months later. She hadn't thought too much about the almost-baby, but now her mind kept going back to it. She knew it was a blessing not to have been left a widow and the mother of a young child – it would have been too hard to travel, too hard to take care of them both. Did she want to end up like her mother, sick and overworked with her kid child working in a teahouse just to pay for her medicine? No, she was lucky.

The truth was, Fuu was often jealous of Shino, even though she didn't want to be. Looking at her own reflection in a tide pool, she was – well, cute, she supposed. Little and plucky. But not elegant, not a real woman like Shino. She had been married, she had been pregnant, but she was still just a little girl.

Fuu kicked the water and her reflection shattered into refracted triangles.


	8. Chapter 8

As always, thanks to **Tawnybmw**, fabulous Beta!

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

The clouds on the horizon were angry and black; Jin came back early from the sea, shaking his head. "The sailors say there will be trouble with the weather," he said. "No catch today."

Mugen was sulking in the corner of the little house. "I gotta go out for a little while," he said carelessly. "I'll be back later."

"Well, be careful if the weather is really going to turn bad," warned Fuu. "You're not going out in the boat, are you?"

"Like you care," Mugen snorted. "See ya, brat." He nodded to Jin and Shino and was gone. Fuu was distracted by a pot of beans that needed to be shelled, but when she peered out to shore later, the boat was gone and the storm clouds were bearing down hard.

"Where could he have gone?" she wondered to Shino, hours later when the rain was hammering down on the roof of the little hut. There were a couple of cracks that Jin had meticulously mended, but wherever the water seeped in they caught it in pots and pans.

"I'm sure he'll be back soon," Shino assured her. "Mugen seems to me to be a man who is good at taking care of himself."

"Well, yeah, but this weather is awful," said Fuu nervously. "And I wouldn't have thought he'd let himself go to prison, either, but I don't know what he would have done if I hadn't come along!"

They both flinched as a particularly violent gust of wind shook the little wooden house to its foundations.

"Is that a boat?" asked Shino, staring out the window into the storm. "That dark spot, just past the rocks?"

"It IS a boat! It's our boat!" Fuu exclaimed. She dashed to the door and grabbed a lantern from the shelves. "Jin, help me!" she shouted.

Jin was mending nets under the shelter of the back porch, but he came out at Fuu's exclamation. "It is listing to the left," he observed grimly. "It will be difficult to steer."

Fuu rushed nimbly down the rocky path to the shore, holding the lantern high as a guide. "MUGEN!" she shouted into the gale, which was pouring its fury down on Tairyō. Her hair stuck to her neck in wet strands, and it was difficult to see, but the boat was not too far from shore. "MUGEN!"

She thought she saw him wave, and the boat swung wildly to the right as he put in his oars and steered for the coast. She held her breath as she watched him fight to control the boat; this was too much like watching from the coast of Ise, when she had been sure he had sunk with that ship; she didn't want to find him washed up like driftwood on the beach tomorrow morning. Mugen was a jerk but she had discovered that she couldn't live without him, and Jin.

Jin grabbed the collar of her kimono and jerked her back as the boat came hammering full-speed into the inlet, riding a wicked wave. It crashed into the place she had been standing with a sickening CRACK, the sound of splintering wood and groaning timbers. "Mugen?"

He was fine; she could see him standing, shaking his head as though to clear it. "MUGEN YOU DOOFUS YOU WRECKED OUR BOAT!"

"Good to see you too, brat," Mugen cracked, springing nimbly from the wreck of the boat. "Hey four-eyes, help me haul this heap up on shore."

"That's not funny!" Fuu shouted. "I was really worried about you, you know, and now you've spoiled our chance to catch anything for at least a week!"

Mugen ruffled her hair as he walked past but said nothing.

Jin moved to help him, and together they carried the battered boat out of reach of the waves. "Good idea with the lantern, I couldn't see where to land," said Mugen to Jin.

"That was Fuu-chan," replied Jin softly, motioning to the dripping, fuming girl who was glaring daggers at them from her perch on the rock.

"Oh, well then never mind." Mugen started to climb the slippery steps back up to Tairyō.

"What happened, Mugen?" Jin asked calmly.

"Nothin," the pirate muttered.

"You would not have gone out in this storm without reason," Jin pointed out.

"I'll tell you about it later," said Mugen. "Nobody needs to get worried about my problems."

"You have helped my family," Jin persisted. "You are a part of our household."

"I'm inta some guys for some money, that's all," said Mugen gruffly. With effort, he and Jin managed to overturn the boat in its place next to the house.

"What guys?" said Fuu suspiciously.

Mugen grunted, glaring at the conspicuous hole in the right side of the boat. "You remember those stick things we came up against in Edo, shot lead out the end?" he asked in a disinterested voice.

"Rifles," agreed Jin, nodding.

"Yeah, well, I got a friend. He smuggles em in from some place over in Europe, and then I figure out ways to get them in. That's what I was doing in Kantō," he admitted. "Except we got caught. But when I landed here on the coast I thought, well, might as well get back into it."

"Oh Mugen," said Fuu, shaking her head. "Those gun-things are terrible."

"Nah, they're great!" said Mugen with enthusiasm. "All you gotta do is point them and bam, no problem!"

"And yet you claim to have a problem," Jin pointed out.

"Well, yeah," Mugen acknowledged. "I was supposed to get this shipment in yesterday, but it got delivered to Funai instead." Funai was a city far to the South, down the coast. "I was supposed to go pick it up today, but with the weather, I had to turn around. Let's just say, if the wrong people get a hold of it, or if I don't manage to deliver it in Kantō, I got a big problem on my hands. Like, people tryin' to kill me."

"Do we have to leave again?" asked Fuu, scared.

"We cannot leave," said Jin immediately, "Shino is only two weeks from her delivery. She cannot travel."

"I gotta get to Funai but I can't go by boat," scowled Mugen, kicking his food in the sand. "I'll have to go by coast, and that'll take forever. An' I don't know what I'll find when I get there."

"You cannot go alone," Jin observed.

"Sure I can," said Mugen cockily. "I always took care of myself before."

"But there might be people waiting for you," said Fuu anxiously. "Maybe I should go with you."

"You?" Mugen snorted, but he looked a little pleased as well. "Don't be stupid, you'd be about as useful as an elephant. If I gotta spend all my time watching out for you, I'm not going to get anything done."

"I will accompany you," said Jin solemnly.

"Ah, man, no," said Mugen. "Don't worry about it. You got a baby coming, you gotta be here."

"You have helped my family," said Jin. "We have profited from your illegal venture. This boat, this house. We owe you a debt. I will come with you to Funai and help you straighten out your business there."

"Jin," breathed Fuu, shocked.

"Shino would agree with me," said Jin with certainty. "Like me, she understands the value of honor. Fuu-chan, I must ask you to stay here with her, and take care of her. We should not be more than a week, but she will need you. I am counting on you."

"I promise," Fuu whispered, her eyes filling with tears.

"I must go and speak to my wife," said Jin. "We will leave tonight." With that, he strode away.

--

Fuu's stomach was tight with foreboding as she helped them pack what they would need, even Jin's unused swords from the place of honor on the wall. "Now, you won't use these on each other, right?" she joked nervously as she handed them down.

Jin helped her down from the stool. "Fuu-chan, it will be alright," he said gently. He helped her off the stool and then paused to place a hand on top of her head, where her hair was standing up in its usual uncontrollable waves. His hands felt so soft and strong against her head that Fuu found it even harder to say goodbye.

"Okay, so, don't do anything illegal," she mumbled. "And Mugen, you're going to get out of this racket, right?"

"Sure, brat," said Mugen, looking at her with an odd, unreadable expression on his face. "I guess this time I fucked up. I'll fix it, nothing to worry about."

"You know we couldn't have made it without the money," said Fuu quietly, looking away. She understood doing dirty things to keep your family together. She didn't need any explanation from him.

"Come," said Jin, standing at the door looking out at the clearing sky. "The sooner we leave, the sooner we will return." He took his last moments aside with Shino, tenderly taking her hand and holding it to his heart. Then they started off with a rhythm that was as familiar as time to Fuu; their steady footprints, and the rhythmic clattering of their swords.

"Come home _soon_!" shouted Fuu to their retreating backs. When they were gone, she and Shino gripped each other in a frantic embrace, only slightly hindered by the taller woman's protruding stomach.

Shino seemed to be getting bigger every day, and Fuu found herself looking at her bulging belly as if it were a bomb waiting to explode. Please don't be born yet, baby, she whispered. Please wait until your daddy comes home!


	9. Chapter 9

Fuu spent the next few days trying to procure rich foods for Shino, who had developed a taste for oysters and crab meat; first she bought them and then, as the money ran out, she stole them.

"These are so delicious, Fuu-chan!" exclaimed Shino, savoring every bite, her eyes sparkling. "It's as though I've never eaten them before!" Even after a vendor in Shimonoseki almost broke her wrist, Fuu figured it was probably worth it.

While Fuu kept herself occupied with this new mission, Shino kept busy with getting bigger. It seemed like every evening Fuu came home she had expanded another couple of inches.

Then one day when Fuu returned from gathering sea cucumber in the rock pools, she found Shino waiting for her at the top of the steps. "I'm sorry, Fuu-chan," said Shino, smiling tenderly. "I've been feeling the birth pains for the past two days, I don't think I can wait any more. I'm going to have the baby soon."

...

Fuu spent the first hour of the delivery scouring first _Tairyō_ and then Shimonseki for someone to serve as the _toriagebaba_, an elder with enough experience to be midwife. Fuu had no clue how to deliver a child and it didn't seem like Shino had any ideas either. By hammering on enough doors she found a grumpy old woman who was not eager to be woken up and hustled to the tiny little hut, but could not quite escape Fuu's insistence.

Shino kept silent as she labored, so the hut was quiet except for her tiny, pained grunts and the old woman's exhortations: "_G__ambatte kudasai" – _persevere, persevere.

It seemed to take a long time, and Fuu scuried around for towels and hot water and anything else a new baby might require, with no idea what they were for.

Finally, _finally_, the midwife, grim-faced, delivered the baby at four o'clock in the morning – it was little and puling, like a plucked chicken. An exhausted Shino, her face sweaty and pale, fell asleep almost the minute the baby was laid in her arms.

"Is it a boy or a girl?" asked Fuu, her voice gravelly and rough from lack of sleep.

"Boy," said the midwife. "_Omedetou gozaimasu_." Congratulations.

...

Shino managed to nurse the baby the first day, but after that she felt too weak to continue. Fuu sent for a goat from the village and milked it, on the advice of the midwife. The baby would barely eat, and Shino had a fever.

After two days Shino was delirious, the baby was an ugly yellow color, and Fuu was frantic. Was this her punishment for secretly wishing, in her innermost heart, that Jin had left Shino behind? Or perhaps for being wicked and a disloyal wife? What if she had somehow brought the fever that had killed her husband and her mother in law?

Maybe everyone she ever came in contact with would die.

She dragged the carried out to the old woman, since she could not take Shino. The midwife took one look at the baby and laughed. "That ain't yellow fever," she said bluntly.

"Are you sure? I mean, look at his skin – it's yellow!"

"Is he hot?"

"No . . ."

"Then it ain't yellow fever. You gotta keep takin' the baby outside, that's all. Don't know about the mother, but sunshine'll turn him pink again."

"And what about Shino?" asked Fuu desperately.

The old woman pursed up her wrinkled lips and spat. "Bring in a doctor," she advised bleakly.

...

The doctor wouldn't help them.

"You've got no money," he said sharply. "I don't work medicine for free."

"Please," begged Fuu. "Her husband will be back any day now, and they'll pay you anything you need, I promise!"

"I don't take promises, I take cash."

"I'll . . . you can sleep with me," Fuu whispered. "Please, I'm really good at this one thing . . ."

"I've been married more than 40 years," said the little man crisply. "Believe me, the last thing I need is more woman."

"Then I'll work for you," said Fuu shamelessly, not at all embarrassed to have offered sex first and then labor. "I'll . . . I'll mix medicines, or take care of your garden, or do anything you need, _anything_."

The doctor _tsked_ and shook his head, but he did agree to at least _look_ at Shino. He stood in the hallway and peered in at her where she was sleeping on the futon.

"She hot?" he asked, uninterestedly.

"Yes."

"Her pulse is slow?"

"No, fast."

The doctor was silent.

"Is that bad?" asked Fuu nervously.

"Well, you don't have to do any work for me," said the doctor.

"What do you mean . . . is she going to be alright?"

"Nope," said the doctor. "Milk fever -- nothing we can do." Then he gathered up his leather bag and left.

...

Slowly the baby got healthy and Shino got worse. "Please, Shino," Fuu begged, wiping her hot brow with a damp cloth. "Jin is going to come home any day now. You've just got to hold on until he gets here and then we can pay for a better doctor!"

"Fuu . . ." Shino's hand trembled as she reached out and stroked Fuu's cheek. "Please, take care of them for me."

"Sure I will, just until you get better," Fuu promised.

"The baby," said Shino softly, "And Jin."

"I promise! _Anything_, I promise, if you'll hold on just a little longer."

She had barely finished speaking when she heard a shout from street outside, and the familiar sound of clanking swords.

_Thank God_, thought Fuu. It was Mugen and Jin. Now everything would be fine.

.

.

_**Note**: The real 'Milk fever' is not a fatal disease, I just figured that doctors back then wouldn't understand sepsis. Just like I imagined that Fuu would call any plague 'yellow fever' (which as far as I know, never struck Edo period Japan). Sorry, but I've already graduated and these days I don't like to do much research . . . _


	10. Chapter 10

**Thanks as usual to the fabulous Tawnybmw!**

**()()()()**

Mugen barely recognized the girl who came running out to meet them – her hair was loose and tumbling down her back in lank curls, her skin was dull and grey, her eyes circled with thick red smudges, like a bruise.

"What the hell happened to you?" he asked bluntly.

"Jin – Shino had the baby," Fuu gasped out, and Mugen had to flinch at the sound of her voice – it was rough, as though she had been screaming.

"So soon?" asked Jin, oddly quiet. Mugen looked over at him and saw that he was paler than he had ever been before, even when he was bleeding to death.

"It's a boy," Fuu continued as if he had never interrupted, "and he's fine, but Shino . . . she's sick," her voice dropped away into a whisper.

Jin dropped the sack he was carrying and strode away into the house.

Fuu stood still after he had passed her, and to Mugen it appeared that she slumped a little lower into herself. She looked like she was deflating. He had automatically turned in the direction of the house when Jin had left, but now he hesitated in place.

"You look like shit," he said.

"Oh!" Fuu looked startled, as though she had forgotten he was there. She turned back towards the house and trotted after Jin.

...

The baby was screaming and the paper door to the bedroom was closed when Fuu and Mugen got back inside. Fuu went at once to the bassinet – actually a drawer – and hoisted out the wriggling little boy, bouncing him up and down on her shoulder until he quieted down.

They both looked at the bedroom, where they could hear the murmur of voices, not enough to make out the words. Fuu hung around the doorframe, debating whether to enter or not.

"I wouldn't," Mugen advised.

The baby started to fuss again and Fuu sighed. She should take him outside.

"It's okay, baby," said Fuu, walking out to the garden with the baby wrapped up on her back in a folded cloth. "I think your daddy's just a little distracted right now."

He was a good baby, easy to please. Fuu hauled him around with her wherever she went, and he never complained.

Weeds had grown over Mugen's tomatoes, and the beans had shriveled and died, but there were a few straggling carrots and Fuu pulled them out of the dirt while the baby bounced and gurgled on her back.

"Does that feel good?" she said, jiggling him gently until he cooed. "Do you like the sunshine?"

He responded by drooling down her neck, wetting the color of her kimono.

"I bet that's a yes," said Fuu. There were noises from the house, and Fuu began to dig harder, using her fingernails to separate the slender roots of weeds from her flower bed. "That's the first thing you gotta learn, baby, is that sometimes bad things happen, and there's nothing we can do about it." Her eyes were suddenly wet. "But it's not your fault. It's not your fault at all . . ."

"Geez, you're gonna make him soft," said Mugen.

"Don't startle me!" said Fuu, jumping to her feet, "I didn't know you were there!"

"It's gone kinda quiet inside," said Mugen, avoiding her eyes.

"Shit," said Fuu with feeling.

...

Fuu barely got a glimpse inside the room when the women of Tairyō came to prepare Shino for her funeral. She saw Shino's shiny, beautiful hair spread over Jin's lap, and a flash of her white arm as the women gently lifted her to carry her away.

"Come along, Fuu," said one of the elderly women. "It's not time for grief. We have a duty to perform today. She was your sister, wasn't she?"

"Yes," said Fuu tonelessly. "She was my sister." Out of respect for Shino, she followed obediently after the women, to a room filled with scented oils and white linen, and at nightfall, a flaming torch.

...

After the funeral, which he attended, Jin returned to the room where Shino had died and closed the door. Then Fuu and Mugen didn't see him for the next few days. He had never, as far as Fuu knew, even looked at his son. So Fuu changed the baby's dirty clothes, she gave him his baths, she coaxed him to eat, and she woke with him in the night when he cried from his place next to her futon.

"Mugen, we've got to give him a name," said Fuu reluctantly, dandling the baby on her knee. "I was waiting for Jin to decide something, but . . . I don't think he's going to make a decision anytime soon."

"Yeah, I got that." Mugen squinted at the baby, who was reaching out chubby hands in his direction. "Gimme the brat."

"Are you sure? You don't usually – "

The baby started to cry as soon as Mugen touched it.

"Hey! He bit me!" Mugen shouted, pulling his arm away.

"Oh, yeah – he does that," agreed Fuu ruefully.

"Oh I got a name for the little squirt – we're calling him Kuso."

Fuu snatched the baby back. "That's not funny, Mugen!" she insisted, swinging up the squalling child to begin the never-failing jiggly dance. "Don't worry, baby," she whispered, listening to his snorting little grunts, like a pig, as he snuffled in her shoulder. "Your daddy will give you a proper name, just as soon as he's feeling better."

...

_A/N: 'Kuso' is a Japanese swearword._


	11. Chapter 11

**Thanks, Tawnybmw!**

_**Note: Mugen's appalling language in this chapter is worth a special warning. If I could add a record-scratching noise, I would. **_

**()()()()**

After a whole week had passed without any sign of life from the room, Fuu bullied Mugen into going in after Jin.

"Oh man, he's gonna stink," Mugen complained. "Why do I gotta do it? Last time I went in there he tried to clock me."

"Please Mugen, I'm not even sure he's eating!" wailed Fuu. "Just go in there and talk to him. See if you can get him to try this soup – I think I burned it so tell him it's supposed to be this color – and maybe take a bath or something. We can't just leave him in there!"

"Sure we can," said Mugen. "He don't want to come out, don't you get it?"

"I told Shino I would take care of him!" said Fuu fiercely. "I told her I would take care of both of them and damned if I'm going to let you make me break a promise. So get in there _right now _and figure it out!"

"You sure are a lousy cook," Mugen groaned, taking a look at the crock of soup. "We've been eatin' crap for weeks now, maybe that's why Jin's hiding out."

"Well I'm _sorry_!" said Fuu, tears welling up in her eyes. "I don't usually have to cook, and Heideki's mother didn't let me in the kitchen that often, and I don't know how to make anything, and we hardly have any food in the house anyway! I'd like to see you do something better with that empty cupboard!"

"Man, don't take it personal," said Mugen blankly. "I'm just saying, you really suck at it."

"Ooh, I hate you, Mugen," Fuu snarled, brandishing a broom at him threateningly. Here she was working her fingers to the bone for him, and he couldn't be bothered to do the _one thing_ she asked him to!

"Take it easy, I'm goin', I'm goin'," said Mugen rolling his eyes. "I'd rather hang out with that looser than you anyway – least his voice doesn't make my eyeballs hurt."

"Well I'm sorry I'm not Sh-Shino," stuttered Fuu, furious now. "I'm sorry I'm not beautiful and gentle and good at cooking and – and _dead_." Dissolving into tears, she hoisted the baby that Mugen was _still_ calling 'Kuso' out of his basket and ran out of the hall clutching him to her chest, while he cried sympathetically along with her.

"That bitch is crazy," said Mugen, looking after her in amazement. Women. Who knew what they were going to do next?

He was still shaking his head and he strode into Jin's room, wrinkling his nose at the smell of sweat that assaulted his senses. "Man," he announced. "You stink like a dog. What the hell you been doing in here?"

"Go away, Mugen," said Jin quietly.

"You oughta hear what that crazy bitch has been saying," Mugen continued, as if Jin had not spoken. "I think she's finally off her nut. Just cuz I pointed out that she can't cook worth shit. She sent you some soup, by the way. I wouldn't touch it though, it looks like turds."

"I am not hungry, so please leave," said Jin. "It is really quiet annoying to hear your inane conversation when I am trying to think."

"You got a pretty good bratling out there," said Mugen conversationally. "Sure got good lungs on him, anyway. Not to mention teeth –" he winced. "Well, gums, I guess. But he can bite good, I'll tell you that much."

No answer.

"So anyway, I can see you ain't interested in that right now. Me neither. Babies suck, I don't know what women see in them. But like I said, you gotta take a bath or something, cuz I wasn't gonna say nothin' but Fuu said you smell like vomit."

No answer.

"Yeah, so the situation is, though, the bathtub's outside. I'm guessin' that dumb bitch has got it all filled up with hot water by now, pro'ly some really girlie smelling shit too. So you should come on before it gets cold."

No answer.

"Oh geez," said Mugen, rolling his eyes. Why was his problem? He didn't even _like_ Jin. Maybe he had some appreciation for a good swordsman when he saw one, but this guy was currently a limp noodle and Mugen couldn't muster empathy to save his life. And yet here he was.

"Listen, buddy, chicks die, okay? They just _do_. It happens. Are you really going to sit in here forever and piss yourself over it?"

"Mugen, shut up."

"No, I'm not kidding. People die all the freaking time, and the world goes on, just like before, okay? Jeez, I shouldn't hafta tell you this shit, you seen as much death as I have."

"I am going to separate your head from your body and then spit down your neck."

Well at least that was _some _kind of answer. Muttering under his breath, Mugen strode across the room and next to Jin, and then took a firm grip on his wrist. "C'mon, you fucking pansy, let's go. You fucking stink and I'm sick of listening to you bitch and moan."

Jin's tired eyes met Mugen's, a faint flicker of comprehension passing between them. "Mugen, your language really is atrocious."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Mugen grumbled, now keeping a tight hold on Jin's arm as he led the way out of the room and down the hallway. He could hardly believe it when Jin followed obediently behind him, stumbling a little on the rough beams of the floorboards. Mugen managed to keep him on his feet with a hand under his elbow, but both men flinched away immediately afterwards.

Luckily Fuu had made herself scarce, leaving a barrel of hot water on the back porch.

"Okay, so here we are, I think you got it from here," said Mugen, rolling his eyes. Jin was squinting short-sightedly at the sky, which was fortunately overcast and bleak: if it had been sunny he probably would have had to start killing things. He made no effort to move.

"I don't freakin' believe this," muttered Mugen. "C'mon, you four-eyed bastard, you gotta drop trou to take a bath, remember? As he spoke, he reached with rough hands to push the collar of Jin's robe off of his shoulders, tugging it all the way free as he pushed the long-haired man in front of him towards the tub. "Do you really want me to keep going? Cuz I'm not going to hear the end of it from that brat if you don't quit this shit."

Moving mechanically, Jin shed the outer layer of his clothing, then hesitated over his under-wrappings. "Believe me, I ain't looking," Mugen assured him, turning his back quickly. He listened intently to the rustle of clothing, then Jin's quiet footfalls and finally, the sound of water splashing.

"Thank god. Don't try to drown yourself or nothing, I'm gonna give these to Fuu," warned Mugen, kicking the discarded clothing back towards the house.

He hung around suspiciously while Jin bathed, half afraid that the idiot _would_ try to drown himself. This was the problem with caring about people: when they left you, which they inevitably would, you were thrown through a fucking loop. Mugen cleverly avoided this situation by being a complete jerk.

"You done yet? I know you're dirty but that water ain't gonna make you any cleaner at this point," he pointed out.

"Yes, I am finished," said Jin quietly. Mugen patiently turned his back and listened to the sounds of Jin stepping out of the tub. "I think she's left clothes for you on the line out back," Mugen muttered.

"Hn."

"Now I'm getting the hell out of here. Avoid that soup, you hear me? It's lethal."

"Mugen," said Jin.

"What?"

Jin sighed. "Thank you, you foul idiot."

"Yeah, don't mention it," muttered Mugen. "Seriously."


	12. Chapter 12

_Before I throw out a curve ball in this __chapter, I'd just like to thank _Pen Against Sword and Lil' Dinky _-  
__you guys are such amazing reviewers! You inspire me to review more consistently myself. _

_And of course I always want to thank _Tawnybmw_for beta-ing this (and every!) chapter._

**()()()()()**

When Fuu came home, Jin was clean but asleep, lying on his futon with his face contorted into a grimace. Fuu scowled at the dirty clothes which Mugen had left for her – _in the middle of the hallway _– and then settled down next to Jin on the floor.

"Jin, you gotta snap out of it," Fuu whispered. "Mugen is calling your baby Kuso and if you're not careful it's going to stick."

Wearily, she rested her head on the futon. Jin wasn't supposed to be like this, he was supposed to take care of _her_. Not the other way around.

_Selfish_, said the voice in her head. She was talking to herself.

"Fuu?" Jin was awake, peering at her through glasses that were sitting askew on his nose.

"Hey Jin," she smiled tentatively, "Mugen said you got up this morning. Did you want anything to eat?"

"Ah, no, thank you," said Jin evasively, "I'm, ah, not very hungry right now."

Fuu narrowed her eyes. "I bought rice balls in the market."

"Oh! Well, then, perhaps I could try to eat something, then."

Fuu made a face, but she was so glad that he was acting a little more – _human_ – that she declined to comment. "Great! I'll go get you some."

A hand reached out to grab her wrist.

"Huh?"

"How did you bear it, Fuu?" asked Jin, fixing his grey eyes on her. "What did you do, when your husband died?"

"Oh Jin," she whispered. _I set out to find you guys._ "I guess . . . it's just that - your family gets you through it."

"I just miss her so terribly," said Jin quietly. "I think I am going mad. I just want to forget, at least for a little while."

"What can I do?" asked Fuu helplessly. "How can I help you?"

"I just want to forget," repeated Jin, "Can't you help me – forget, Fuu-chan, just for a little while? Just for – a little – while – "

_Oh,_ thought Fuu, when she found herself pressed against a strong chest, when cool lips found the pulse point of her neck.

And then she let him pull himself over her, let him tangle his fingers in her messy hair – she let him, because she didn't have anything else to offer.

...

It seemed to help; Jin became a regular at meals, and joined in the general mockery of Fuu's cooking. "I had no idea it was possible to ruin white rice," he observed mildly, although he always cleared his plate.

"I really hate you guys, you know that?" Fuu muttered.

He also returned to sword fighting, spending long afternoons perfecting the moves he used against his invisible enemies. And he started to show at least a mild interest in his son, who he named Kennin, meaning _Fortitude_, or Perseverance. Mugen, whenever he got the chance, continued to call him Kuso.

If Jin did not forget, at least it seemed like he had found a way to make the memory bearable.

At the end of the day, when Fuu had put away the last of the dishes, or the laundry, or _finally_ got the baby to sleep, when she tiptoed on bare feet to the rice-paper door of the bedroom . . .

. . . it made her feel warm inside, to think that she was helping them.

Even though she knew that she was only a substitute for the real woman they'd lost.

()()()

Next Chapter - Fuu and Mugen: _"How come you do him and not me?"_


	13. Chapter 13

_Thanks, as always, to_ **Tawnybmw!**

()()()()

Fuu hadn't really been expecting Mugen to stay with them forever. What was the point? Mugen wasn't a patient man, he didn't have any instinct for domestic life or settling down.

He had also seen her leaving Jin's room in the early dawn.

As the days slipped slowly by, she found herself anticipating his departure at any time. Whenever she came home from the market, she wondered if he would still be there, or if he would have vanished without a trace. The thought of staying without him made her chest ache.

But instead of packing his things, Fuu came home one day to find him one day fixing up the boat. "Gee, Mugen," she teased him, "a girl could start to think you were planning on sticking around."

"This things' a hunk of junk," announced Mugen, tearing away a broken board. "I mean, even before I crashed it."

"What's the point of fixing it anyway? Jin says he doesn't want to fish anymore. He hasn't gone out since – ah, you know."

"Yeah well we ain't getting any richer," said Mugen. "That stupid baby's gonna start eating more than goat milk, and already there's hardly enough the rest of us."

"But Mugen," she said cautiously. "I thought – "

"Thought what?"

"Nothing, I guess. You're right, we've got to eat, especially me, ha ha!"

Mugen was eyeing her shrewdly. "Thought what? Thought I was gonna take off?"

"Well, maybe . . ."

"Cuz that's what I do, huh?"

"I don't know . . . Kennin – isn't your son. I just figured, maybe you wouldn't want to hang around."

"Ain't your son either," Mugen pointed out.

"I feel like he is," said Fuu softly. "I was the first one to hold him. I kept him alive those first few days, before you guys came home. I . . . I promised Shino." She shook her head hopelessly. "Maybe he is my son, in some cosmic way, you know?"

"Uh-huh," said Mugen skeptically. "Whatever. I'm just saying, you got as many reasons to go as I have."

"I guess I thought – "

He began to hammer nails with sloppy strokes, pounding down the wooden beams he had patched over the hole. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. Can't wait for me to leave, huh?"

"That's not what I mean and you know it," said Fuu over the noise of the hammer. "Didn't I drag you all the way out here?"

"And now you got what you want," said Mugen darkly. "Just gotta get rid of me so you can play house with Four-Eyes in there."

"It's not like that," Fuu whispered. "It doesn't mean anything. Jin just needs me right now, that's all."

"You think I'm stupid?" Mugen snarled. "You think I don't see you two actin' all lovey-dovey and shit? Cuz it's enough to make me _sick._"

Fuu paused to think. Did Jin really feel something for her? No, she was just a convenient warm body, that was all – just a place for him to put all his bitterness, no different from the guard at the prison.

Right?

"Don't be that way," she begged. "Please don't be mad at me."

"Oh, I ain't mad," said Mugen carelessly, "I just want to know, how come you do him and not me?"

"Huh?"

"I know he gets a piece of ass whenever he wants it. So I'm just asking, can just anyone get in on that?"

"That's not funny, Mugen!" Fuu hollered, her face turning red with anger and embarrassment. She swung at him, a clumsy punch that he easily dodged, and turned on her heel to stalk away, but suddenly his calloused hands closed around her wrist and hauled her back.

"I mean it," he muttered, suddenly close to her ear, his voice rough, "How come?"

Fuu didn't know what to say. "Mugen . . ."

Mugen kept her too close to him, so that she could feel his hot breath on her neck, and would not let her turn around to see his expression. "You know he's a fruit, right?" he asked. "That's whatcha want, a guy with stupid glasses like that who mopes about his dead wife?"

_Want_? Thought Fuu hazily. What _did_ she want? Had she even asked herself?

She remembered Jin's careful, gentle fingers untying the knot of her obi, the reverence with which he folded the pink kimono and laid it aside . . . she wanted that. And she wanted to see the recognition in Kennin's eyes when she picked him up in the morning.

But without Mugen . . . what would any of it matter, if Mugen wasn't a part of it?

"I want . . . I just want us to be together," Fuu whispered. "All of us."

Mugen jerked her back against him, and Fuu felt the hardness of his body and his terrible tension. "You want this?" he demanded coarsely.

Heat seemed to spike up from her stomach. "Yes," gasped Fuu.

"Guess that's good enough for me."

He didn't kiss her, he _bit_ and sucked at her lips, and his hands were everywhere, squeezing and searching out the soft parts. He pulled her down on top of him, down into the boat where he was sitting on the bench seat.

"Someone's going to see," Fuu protested, half-heartedly.

"Nah, it's gettin' dark." He was investigating the landscape under her clothes.

"Mugen," she whispered.

She was thin, her little body barely bigger now than it had been all those years ago. She was so tiny and trembling when he tugged her on to his lap that he could barely bring himself to hold onto her, but he did it. "Mugen . . ."

He wished he knew how to treat her better. He wasn't like Jin, who probably acted like she was made out of glass, who probably said sweet stuff to her and was real careful not to hurt her.

Mugen did not know how to be gentle – he only knew the violence of battle and the urges of his body. He was fierce with her, because he couldn't be kind, because it was the only emotion he could use.

It was enough.

--

"Mugen?" asked Fuu, afterwards, when they were catching their breath and looking out over the dark, restless sea. "Are you going to sail away some day?"

"Of course I am," he said.

"Please, please don't go . . ."

"Don't go thinking you own me now, or nuthin' – " warned Mugen, scratching himself as he stretched. "I'll go when I want to."

"I know," said Fuu, trying to keep the tears from spilling over her cheeks. She didn't succeed – they slipped down slowly, and once they started, she couldn't stop them. She turned her face away, knowing it would only make him mad.

Shit, thought Mugen, he had made her cry again. Seemed like all the stupid twit ever did was cry. He didn't like it, and he didn't like the way she always looked these days - weary and pinch-faced with exhaustion.

"Know what I figure?" he said finally.

"What?" Fuu sniffed.

"I figure it'll take me the rest of the season just to fix up this boat. And then maybe the three of us –

"Four of us," interjected Fuu at once.

He squinted doubtfully at his fingers, "However many, I figure we'll sail this old heap right out to sea. You wanna do that?"

"Where are we gonna go?"

"Somewhere," said Mugen. "It's better than walking, anyway. Maybe we'll just follow the coast down a while."

Hesitantly, Fuu settled herself at Mugen's side, just barely leaning against his warm shoulder. He didn't put his arm around her, but he didn't push her away, either. "Really?" she said.

"Maybe."

"And you – you won't go, unless you take us with you?"

"Maybe," said Mugen.

It was enough.


	14. Chapter 14

Thanks, **Tawnybmw**, faithful beta!

()()()()()()

After Mugen had gone – slinking off in the direction of town – Fuu sat for a long time in the shattered boat. The sun had set, and there were so many things still to be done . . . the laundry was piling up again, and there was nothing ready for supper, and the baby probably needed to be changed . . .

Her head was buzzing. _I slept with_ _Mugen__!?_ Jeez, she really _was_ a slut. What was Jin going to say when he found out? Would he be angry? Did either of them care enough to be jealous? Did either of them really care about her at all?

And all of a sudden, she was bonelessly, achingly tired.

She clambered out of the boat and staggered up the path to the crooked house, barely able to keep her eyes open. She was weaving like a drunk man as she made her way to Jin's room, collapsing onto his futon, which was the biggest and softest in the house.

Then she buried herself in blankets and let herself drift away.

She was awakened by the sound of Kennin's peevish cries – it was late and the house was empty. She managed to get up, with difficulty, and dragged her feet into the kitchen, where he was lying in his drawer.

"Poor baby," she murmured, scooping him up. "How bout you and me go back to bed, okay?" She brought him back to Jin's room and cuddled up with him in a cozy bundle. Gradually, his whimpering quieted. "Such a good baby," she whispered, nuzzling his warm little tummy, as the two of them slipped back into sleep.

...

"Oi, wake up." Calloused fingers were poking her arm. "Girlie. Hey."

"Leave me alone," said Fuu, half-asleep.

"Man, I really know how to wear a girl out," Mugen preened. "Ain't there nothing leftover from dinner?"

"No. Eat dirt."

"That's what I get for treatin' you so good, huh," said Mugen uninterestedly. "Figures. A chick's no good once you've banged her, I always say that."

"Shut up, Mugen." Fuu snuggled down against the baby. "I'm tired."

"Yeah, whatever." Mugen sounded disgusted, but at least he retreated out of the room and closed the door behind him when he left.

...

"Fuu-chan?" she rolled onto her back and squinted up at the light. "Have you been here all night?"

Was it morning already? "Oh, hey Jin . . ." she said muzzily. "Sorry, I guess I'm in your bed."

"It's alright, Fuu-chan," he said gently. "You rest." She felt him leaning over her, and then his ivory hand was resting on her forehead. Sighing, she leaned into his touch. "You do not feel warm. Are you feeling alright?"

"Just sleepy," Fuu assured him.

"You have been working very hard," Jin observed. "Perhaps you require more sleep."

It occurred to Fuu that she could not remember the last time she slept through the night. "Mmm, maybe," she agreed, snuggling back down in the blankets. She felt him reach for the baby, who cooed and gurgled as he was lifted up. "He's gonna be hungry soon," she warned.

"I will feed him."

If Fuu had any doubts that Jin knew how to do that, they weren't enough to keep her awake very long.

...

"Ngh. Go way."

"Quit wiggling," ordered Mugen.

"S'hot," said Fuu, trying to turn her face away from his rough hand. "Stop it."

He scowled at her as he finally managed to check her forehead for fever. "You're not warm," he said accusingly.

"I _told _you that," Fuu sniped back, covering herself back up. "I'm just _tired_. That's why I'm trying to _sleep._"

"Ain't you feeling any better yet?"

"No."

"You want Four-eyes?" asked Mugen, sounding unexpectedly concerned. "You want me to get him?"

"No," Fuu whispered. "He's just gonna worry."

"Yeah, but you don't care if I worry," said Mugen darkly.

Fuu managed a soft snort, but she felt too lazy to even make a face. "As if you ever worry about me."

Mugen didn't answer, but he came to sit on the side of the futon with a damp cloth. "Sit up."

She wanted to, really, but she was so, so tired –

"HEY! I'm TALKING to you!" What, had she fallen asleep? She was lying over Mugen's lap and he was holding the cloth to her head – oh, it was _cold_ and slimy. "Mugen, did you wash that or did you get it out of the laundry?" she said thickly.

"Shut it, brat." He carefully wiped the hair off her forehead.

"Mugen, I don't have a fever," she whined, trying to escape his clumsy ministrations. "You just checked that. And Jin checked too. I'm not sick!"

"Fish-Face says, if you ain't up and about by tomorrow he's gonna get the doctor," Mugen announced.

"Doctor won't come," said Fuu thickly. "No matter what you offer him." She wanted to laugh at the thought of Jin trying to seduce the fat little doctor at Shimonoseki, but somehow it didn't seem terribly funny.

Mugen was pushing her back off of his lap, laying her head on the pillow. He was too rough and it hurt to be jostled even a little, and Fuu couldn't help a whimper.

"Quit yer whining," Mugen demanded at once, frustrated and useless as he tried to handle her with some kind of restraint. "You think I got nothing better to do than sit around here watching you laze about?"

Her eyes were already closing. "Sorry," whispered Fuu. So tired . . .

"Yeah, well," Mugen retracted, mollified. "If you sick up, I'm gonna leave you in your own vomit."

...

Fuu's head was drooping from her neck; there were arms under her shoulders, sitting her up.

"Careful, you Bastard,' she heard Mugen's snarling voice, and then another hand came to cup the back of her head, holding it up.

She had taught him that, she thought; he always held Kennin wrong.

"Gently, Mugen," advised Jin's calm voice. "Let her sleep."

"I don't get it," said the pirate. "She ain't hot, she ain't cold, she ain't hurlin, it's like there's nothin' wrong with her."

Hands were tucking the blankets around her, pulling them up to her chin. Whose hands? It seemed important, but she couldn't tell.

Jin's voice sounded old and worn. She was sorry for making him feel that way. "I believe she will recover if we simply allow her to rest." His hand was stroking her hair, and she thought she could feel it faintly trembling.

Oh, Jin, thought Fuu; she was not Shino – she was not going to die. "What are you guys doing?" she managed to say. Her voice was scratchy.

"It is late, Fuu-chan," said Jin, "You have slept all day."

"Yeah well I'm still tired," said Fuu, yawning for emphasis.

She was settled back against the blankets, but the futon was suddenly warm with body heat. Strong arms wrapped around her, holding her against somebody's hard chest.

Fuu cracked one swollen eyelid to see that Mugen's bronze arm was over her shoulder, and Jin's body, pale as ivory, was in front of her, his gaze fixed inquiringly on her face.

"Then we will all rest together," he said calmly.

Fuu fell back to sleep with a smile on her face.

"You better get up tomorrow," Mugen warned her in a whisper, right next to her ear. "Or I'm gonna kick your ass."


	15. Chapter 15

**()()()()()**

The birds were singing – _loudly_ – when Fuu woke the next morning to find herself in an empty bed. "Stupid birds," she muttered, rubbing her gritty, sleep-swollen eyes.

She stretched luxuriously for a moment, feeling more well-rested than she had in months, and then swung herself upright. The sky outside the window was clear blue with the softest fringe of clouds; she could tell it was going to be a beautiful day.

"So are you gonna get up or what?" asked Mugen; she looked up to find him leaning in the doorway.

Fuu blinked, remembering his threat of the night before. "Yeah, I guess," she said reluctantly. Not because she was really afraid of him, but because she wasn't a little girl anymore, who could hide in bed whenever she was overwhelmed.

"Good." Mugen turned around to disappear into the hallway, until Fuu's little voice called after him.

"Where's Kennin?"

"He's here," Jin answered her, coming to stand beside Mugen. He looked odd with the baby tucked into the crook of his arm, but his face was placid, and Kennin was burbling happily. "It is good to see you sitting up, Fuu-chan."

"Yeah, I'm feeling a lot better," she admitted shyly.

"That is good," said Jin. "Why don't you come sit down and eat. Are you hungry?"

"Starving!" said Fuu enthusiastically, scrambling up. "I could eat a whole boat-load of food. Or two boats full! Enough to fill a boat with a hole in it!"

"I bet," Mugen muttered. As she walked by, he pinched her ass. She yipped.

"Mugen, you can't do that kind of thing!" She scolded, looking anxiously after Jin.

"What, you think he don't know?" Asked Mugen disbelievingly. "What are you, nuts? The dude's got a baby, not a brain injury."

"Ooh, I hope he isn't angry," said Fuu anxiously. "I'm not exactly sure what to tell him."

"I said you were a pretty good lay for being so skinny. You got a little bit of flesh back here, at least," Mugen confided, palming her behind again.

"Quit it!" Fuu ordered, although her voice was not quite as demanding as it could have been. "I can't believe you said that to him! Are you insane? You have absolutely no tact!" A pause. "So what did he say?"

"He said he'll take every other week day, plus Sunday, and I can have you Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. I guess you get Friday off. Wouldn't want to overwork you."

"He did not!" Fuu shrieked. "You're a filthy liar!"

"Maybe he said something boring and lame like always," said Mugen unenthusiastically, "like about me not hurting you or he'd try to kill me, as if that could ever happen."

Fuu was touched. "Really?"

"Nope."

"Well, what'd he say then!?"

"Hn."

"What? Aren't you gonna tell me?"

"That is what he said. 'Hn.' What'd you expect, that's what he always freaking says."

Fuu was quiet. "Like, in a good way, or in a bad way?"

Mugen rolled his eyes. "How the hell am I supposed to know?"

"Well, sometimes if it gets higher at the end, kind of like _hn-n_," Fuu demonstrated, "that's more positive. Whereas if it it's very short, that's bad."

"Look, the thing was, you wouldn't get out of bed and I guess it just didn't seem that important who you were sleeping with, you know? I mean, you really freaked him out faking sick after what happened to the last chick he banged."

"I was not _faking sick_," said Fuu crossly. "I told you the whole time that I was just _tired_. I'm sorry if taking care of the three of you, and worrying about how we were going to get enough money to eat, and doing all the work around here was a little too much for me _on top of sleeping with both of you_!!" By the end of this harrangue, her voice had hit that particular octave usually reserved for calling dogs.

"Jeez, don't get so wound up," said the pirate, covering his ears. "You're a lot hotter when you ain't talking, anybody ever tell you that?"

"Fuu-chan? I thought you were hungry?"

"I am hungry," said Fuu hurriedly, ducking around Mugen and following Jin into the kitchen. "I just got caught up talking to that jerk over there."

"Hn."

The little kitchen table was bulging with food, and Fuu's eyes almost popped out of her head. "Wow, guys, where'd you get all this GRUB?" she exclaimed, seizing her chopsticks and advancing on the feast.

"Some of your friends in the village heard you were sick," said Jin, watching in awed horror as Fuu consumed an entire plate of noodles without pause and moved onto the shrimp rolls. Discretely, he covered his son's eyes.

"Mmm so good!" she moaned as she ate, making short work of a platter of fish. Her tiny noises of pleasure were lost in the bowl of sauce.

"This is disgusting," Mugen observed apart to Jin, neither of them quite able to look away. He made to reach for a rice ball and drew back hurriedly when Fuu _growled_ at him, brandishing her chopsticks menacingly.

"Perhaps we should withdraw to another room until this feeding frenzy has abated," Jin suggested.

"Well, but it's kinda hot, too." Both men watched Fuu happily suck down onigiri one after another.

"Hn."

Eventually Fuu had to stop, not because her stomach was full but because all the food was gone.

"Oh that was SO GOOD!" she announced brightly, rubbing her now-bulging belly. "I'm going to have to think of a really special way to thank Sayuri-chan and sweet old Mr. Moyotogo! Oh, I'm sorry guys, did you want some?" She looked perplexedly at the empty table. "I guess it's all gone."

"That's okay Fuu-chan, I am no longer hungry," said Jin hurriedly.

"Yeah, I don't think I'm ever gonna again."

"Good, because I'm not cooking tonight." Fuu skipped out of the kitchen, leaving an army's worth of dirty plates. "And who knows, maybe I'm not cooking all week. Or cleaning! I'm definitely not cleaning. In fact, I think I'm going to go sit on the beach and up my glow."

She preened a little, inspecting her transparently white skin, "Even a girl as foxy as me has to spend a little time maintaining her looks, you know!"

"Unbelievable," said Jin, staring at Fuu's departing back.

"Seriously," Mugen agreed. "She ain't gonna tan, she's gonna freckle." He made as though to follow her, but Jin gripped the back of his hakama.

"Where are you going? Who is going to clean all these plates?"

"Who cares?" said Mugen blankly. "Let's just leave `em, and then in a week we'll throw `em off the cliff."

"I will make a deal with you," said Jin. "One of us will wash the dishes, and the other will take Kennin all day."

Mugen eyed first the dishes, and then the widening puddle of drool on Jin's shoulder. Babies were gross. But there were a _lot_ of plates . . . "Alright, gimme the brat," he said, resigned.

Jin held out the baby by the armpits, so his little feet kicked and pedaled in the air.

"You know, last time I held him he bit me," said Mugen doubtfully, not making any move to take him.

"At least he doesn't have teeth yet."

Kennin's face crumpled and he opened his mouth to start wailing.

"Alright, alright, I got him," said Mugen hurriedly, seizing the baby around the middle and holding him under an armpit, face-down.

"Maybe this was not such a good idea," said Jin doubtfully.

"Nah, don't worry about it, I won't drop him or nuthin'," Mugen assured him. "An' if he cries I'll just feed him something. Works with Fuu, too." He winked and then turned around to follow the little pink figure disappearing in the direction of the beach. "Have fun with all these dishes!"

Jin looked after him for a few minutes, shaking his head. Then he turned around to the quiet kitchen, with sunlight streaming in through the windows. "I definitely got the better end of that deal," he meditated, rolling up his sleeves. Mugen didn't know that the baby needed to be changed from a particularly messy diaper. And if he knew his son at all, it was only the first of many for the day. Honestly, the little man was a dung _machine_.

...

Fuu had made her way to a warm, flat rock and was lying in the sunshine. The sun was blindingly bright, and the sound of the ocean was like a heartbeat, and Fuu was content to lie still and listen to the screams of seagulls overhead.

They were good together, she thought. Mugen and Jin balanced out to be one good man, just barely, between them.

She could hear one of them nearby, coming closer, splashing through the water – she could hear Kennin's petulant cries and what sounded like muffled curses – but she made no effort to look up, not wanting to know who it was.

She just wanted to stay exactly like this, forever. For the first time since they had split up, she couldn't imagine how things could be any better than they were.


	16. Epilogue

**()()()()**

It was funny how Jin's boat never seemed to be finished.

"Ain't gonna be big enough for all of us, unless that baby shrinks back down," said Mugen. "Or unless we add another seat."

Kennin, as it turned out, did not shrink. But the new seat spoiled the handling of the boat. "Too much weight in the back," said Mugen, scowling, when he tore it out.

"If you can think of nothing else to do to the vessel, perhaps I will resume fishing with it," suggested Jin.

"We ain't never getting outta here in that thing," Mugen grunted. "We gotta earn enough to buy a bigger boat."

It was funny how they never seemed to save enough money.

"I got a great deal for that catch!" said Fuu, coming home from the market. "Too bad I spent most of it on new curtains."

"Whatta we need with curtains? I wanted sake!"

"I thought a little more privacy would be nice," said Fuu, coloring.

"Enough sake and you won't care about that no more."

"Listen, there is a child in this house! And we have _neighbors_, you know."

"Yeah but we don't have _sake_. I'm gonna go buy some right now. Gimme the change."

It seemed like, before they knew it, Kennin was taking his first wobbly steps and eating at the table. To celebrate his first words ("Ka-ka,") they went to eat lunch on the rocky cliffs below Tairyō. Fuu's cooking was gradually improving, to the point where even Mugen would eat it without comment, and they sat munching on rice balls and watching the sparkling water.

"I think people are onto us," said Fuu unexpectedly, wiping her mouth.

"Oh?"

"My friend Sayuri-chan told me that it was a sin to live with two men."

"And what did you say?"

"I said . . . well, I said that I love you. Both of you."

"I dunno, maybe she's gonna suspect something, then," said Mugen, rolling his eyes. "Hard to say."

"Well, I'm sorry!" said Fuu. She could feel her quick temper flare. "But it's true and I'm not ashamed of it, okay?"

"Of course you are not ashamed, Fuu-chan," said Jin gently. "It is an honor, to love, and to love more is only a greater honor."

Fuu hung her head and looked away. Of course, she hadn't expected them to say anything in return. That was not how their particular relationship worked. How foolish of her to get her hopes up, even for a moment!

"It is an honor – that I – share," said Jin in a low tone, after a pause. "That is to say, ah – "

"Yeah," said Mugen quickly. "What he said." There was a long, awkward silence. "So, uh, let's pack it in, okay?" Both men jumped to their feet and began hurriedly loading up the wicker basket.

"Oh," said Fuu, in wonder. "Well, I guess since we all love each other, I finally got what I always wanted." She clambered to her feet and then scooped up Kennin as well.

"A three-way?" offered Mugen.

"No, idiot." She hid her smile. "A family."

**()()()()**

_I have really enjoyed writing this story - thank you so much to everybody who has stayed with it this long, and especially those who wrote in with feedback or encouragement. _

_And of course (most of all) to my fabulous beta Tawnybmw! Any mistakes are entirely my own._


End file.
